


A New Center

by Seruna



Series: Universe: Shade and Canach [11]
Category: Guild Wars 2 (Video Game)
Genre: Gap Filler, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-10
Updated: 2017-12-10
Packaged: 2019-02-13 00:17:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,411
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12971535
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Seruna/pseuds/Seruna
Summary: After the incident with the bloodstone Shade's powers have refused to return. He begins to question himself, his worth and the continuation of his journey. Desperate he seeks counsel with the Pale Tree and only after Canach presents an oppertunity does Shade finally realize why this journey is necessary - and that growth can come from most unexpected places.The story of how Shade became a Weaver.





	A New Center

Caladbolg slashed into the training dummy, the straw barely even yielding under his labored strike. Shade's breath came in hitches and he straightened, felt his shoulders and arms aching from the exertion and lifted his arms for one last dual strike when a voice interrupted him,

“What are you doing?”

Shade halted mid-movement and turned his head, the weapons slowly lowering and pointing toward the ground. He was too out of breath to answer immediately. “Training.”, he gulped and Caithe raised an eyebrow at him.

“Is it because our brother is no longer watching you like a tigress does her cups?”

“I am fine.”, Shade replied more sharply than necessary. Her expression was level at his outburst.

“Do not exert yourself, Commander. Nobody would profit from it.”

Exert himself? He wanted to choke out a laugh, but it was stuck in his throat with a bitter taste. “I am fine.”, he repeated coldly, felt the element water responding to his emotion, a cool mist circling around his hands.

She watched the mist warily, her eyes darting to meet his eyes again. She shifted from one leg to the other and folded her hands in front of her chest. “If you would like a real opponent, I would be up for the challenge.”

Was she trying to lure him out of his reserve? His pride had led him to all sorts of dark roads lately and he had taken the lesson that he did not need to prove anyone anything to heart.

And yet, a distant, faded voice in his head said _You can't fight her. You do not have the elements. You are defenseless._

“Perhaps another time.”, Shade evaded and sheathed both his weapons and made his way past her. He felt her eyes boring into his back and wondered if she would watch him, now that Canach had gone on one of his trips.

The training grounds were usually his favorite place – it was a wide area offering a variety of targets and was well looked after. Yet now everyone seemed to watch him, sympathetically, ruefully, emphatically.

Because everyone seemed to know that the elements refused to answer him. All that answered him was water, an element he had rarely ever called at all. Once, to put out a fire, as far as he could recall. When he had awakened he had tested his abilities, but water felt evasive, fluid, lithe, cold. Air felt similar, yet eerie, light and soft. And lightning was just that: Electrifying, energetic, impulsive.

In order to avoid all of the watching gazes he made his way to the lowest level of the Grove and sat near the farthest bank of the pond, watched the water and controlled small waves that drew the edge of the water close to his feet and away again. His hand made a push and pull motion yet he could not feel any triumph at his abilities.

It was gone. Done. Over. If he could not prove to the world that with a sword and dagger alone he was a force to be reckoned with then all he had fought for would be lost.

He sighed bitterly. After everything he had done – Kill two Elder Dragons and a God, absorb some of the God's power – now he sat here and had lost it all.

_Stop pitying yourself_ , a voice in his head hushed him.  _Your friends and comrades respect you not only for your abilities over the elements, but because you are their leader. Canach, Braham and Majory wield weapons. Why should you be any less excellent?_

The water in front of Shade's feet froze and he got up from where he had been sitting, stepped forward on the sheet of ice. It crackled underneath his feet but held under the pressure of his body. The pond froze beneath his soles, every step he took he thought he might drop into the water but the sheet of ice remained intact.

He stood atop the pond in the very middle and admired the trail he had left behind, the ice that covered only where he had stepped and watched it recede slowly, melting away into the pond.

A few sylvari in the distance watched him curiously and with awe and he ignored their stares, because among the awe and fascination lay pity and he needed none.

Even if his skin felt not like his own, as though he had taken another sylvari's body, as though he was not himself. He could feel it, deep down, in his body, his system, that _something_ was amiss.

With a shake of his head he concentrated on the water, the ice, the feeling of cold and fluid all around him. His hand gripped Caladbolg's hilt, pulled it from its sheath and he admired the blade, memories resurfacing once again – but just as the Pale Tree had said, his wounds were healing, even if slowly, and the pain was not quite as harsh an agony any more as it had been.

Water was healing, was life, was growth, much like the sun was for the sylvari. The Cycle of Dawn, the element Water... Perhaps it was another twist of fate Shade simply would have to accept.

With his free hand he cast a fine mist on Caladbolg, coated it in a layer of frost that made the blade look brittle and glittering in the light thrown from the blossoms that decorated the pathways.

Crystals formed on the blade and he swung the blade behind him, pulled it forward and jumped into the air in a whirl, landed on the ice beneath him with barely a stumble and saw sharp ice shards disappear into the pond where they had been shot from his blade.

He heard the splash of water and watched it ripple and still again. He smiled to himself. There just was a tiny chance he might get used to this.

  
  


“Still nothing?”, Mender Aviala asked as he lay in the warm water that engulfed most of his body, his face and parts of his chest above the surface. Her hands drew strange lines over his bark and he shook his head in a tiny motion.

“Nothing.”

Her warm and smooth hands ceased and she straightened, looked at him thoughtfully. “I...have to admit that is rather odd.”

Shade sat up. “So there is nothing you can do?”

“There is no reason for your elements to be inhibited. The Bloodstone should have dissolved completely by now. If your powers have not returned the problem may be elsewhere.”

“Such as?”, he inquired calmly, even though inside him everything bristled at the thought that his lightning was gone, that he would not conjure flames again.

“Stress, perhaps. You battled an Elder God just a few weeks ago. Or something in your personal life that has you shaken.”

“If the fight with Balthazar was really responsible, would it not have inhibited me immediately after?”

She shrugged. “I am merely handing out ideas, Valiant. I fear that I can no longer help you. This is beyond my knowledge, or my powers.”

“Thank you, for all your help.”, Shade smiled at her and got up, felt the water trickling over his skin as he grabbed his robes and pulled them over, felt them damp and wet against him. There was only once place he had left to go.

  
  


“Valiant.”, the Pale Tree smiled at him and he bowed his head in reverie.

“Mother, I have come seeking advice and guidance.”

“It is your powers.”, she stated and he wondered how he could have assumed that she might not know. “Come closer, Valiant.”

As he stepped closer her radiance engulfed him, warm and soothing, her scent lingering in the air, sweet like incense and almost intoxicating. She lifted her hand in a smooth motion, her pale palm hovering just in front of his face and closed her eyes.

For a second Shade did not know what to do, shifted his weight uncertainly from one leg to the other until she opened her eyes again. She looked sad for some reason.

“I am sorry, my child.”, she said ruefully. “I am afraid this is no illness that I, or anyone else, can mend.”

“Then...what do I do?”, he asked helplessly.

She seemed reluctant to answer. “Your trials and your death have given your spirit a new center, and your most recent conflict has only shifted it even more. I fear you have to discover yourself anew to find the answer – and make peace with yourself.”

_Of course_ , he thought. He could never have hoped to stay and be the same after besting three mighty opponents, after returning from the dead, after absorbing parts of a god's power, after becoming a dragon's champion.

“It is difficult to find balance. Does the flame heat the water, or evaporate the drop? You have grown too much, too fast. Readjust yourself, and trust yourself to guide the way.”

Why did she look pained and sad? What was it that she did not tell him? Had she seen something in his future? Something in the Dream?

“I will, mother. Thank you.”

With that he made his way out of the Chamber, yet even with such an answer, he felt he was none the wiser.

  
  


Shade sat in the Dreamer's Terrace, pondered about what the Pale Tree had said. Something told him she was right, that there was no way his elements had simply _disappeared_ because of Bloodstone. It was inhibiting, yes, but if it had the power to render magic completely non-existent someone would have found out and used it for that purpose. 

No, the problem was somewhere inside him. But how did one go about finding a new center? Was there a process for such a thing? 

Canach would return tomorrow and Shade wanted to wait, to ask the warrior for his opinion on the matter, yet another part was eager to pack and leave – to anywhere, really. To go, for just a few days. 

“ _What?”, Shade asked and watched Canach lift from the bed, bending down toward his clothes and slowly draping himself in his usual leaves and hardened bark._

“ _It is just for a few days. There is something that I want to investigate.”_

“ _Why are you not telling me what it is?”, Shade asked and sat up slowly._

“ _Because if I do, you will want to accompany me, and if I am incorrect, you will be disheartened. Think of this as a surprise.”_

“ _I want to go with you either way.”, Shade grumbled, but he knew that it was a fight he had already lost._

“ _I won't be gone long.” Canach said it just as the last piece of armor was in place and Shade bit his lip._

“ _What if something happens to you? How will I know?”_

“ _Nothing will happen.”, Canach soothed and sat down on the bed, the ferns sinking in at his weight. His eyes were tender, yet firm. “Stay here and rest.”_

“ _How would you stop me?”, Shade asked defiantly, but with a hint of a smile._

_Canach grinned in return and grasped behind Shade's neck, pulled him closer into a short kiss. “I believe as of right now, I am the stronger one.” With that Canach stood._

“ _I will train.”, Shade warned him in jest. “When you return, I will rival that sword-play of yours.”_

“ _I can hardly wait.”, Canach's eyes gleamed and then he was gone._

That had been three days ago now, and yesterday Shade had received a message from Canach via a letter that told him of his arrival. The message summoned up Canach fairly well.

_Task successful. Return on the 'morrow._

It was brief, not more information that was truly required, yet Shade was dying to know what it was that had Canach leaving on such a short notice – and why he had not told Shade about it.

Sullenly he let his head drop onto his folded arms onto the table. He missed the warrior's presence dearly. In all this time of his recovery Canach had been with him every step of the way, had helped him unconditionally, never asking for anything in return.

If Shade had any doubts left, he now was certain that what they had was real, that it would last and that only an early death would part them from one another. With a smile he drifted to sleep.

  
  


He felt someone grasp under his body and made a surprised noise that was more of a sleepy mumble and blinked up at Canach who carried him in his arms. The warrior smiled down at him and Shade smiled back, nestled his head against the warriors chest.

There was the sound of ferns rustling, Shade felt his body gently lowered down into the comfort of the bed and then Canach's body pressing against his own. Strong arms pulled him into a warm embrace and Shade sighed contently, too sleepy to entirely register what was going on.

When Canach brought a hand gently and rhythmically through his foliage he drifted into sleep once more.

  
  


When Shade awoke it was in Canach's embrace and as soon as he moved Canach stirred. The warrior seemed to have a light sleep, perhaps from the many years of traveling alone, of being on his guard. He usually woke before Shade did and Shade relished the look of hazy, sleep-ridden eyes that blinked down at him.

“You're back.”, Shade noticed and Canach nodded.

“When I came home I was greeted by a snoring sylvari. I have to admit I expected a more enthusiastic welcome.”

Shade got the memo and leaned up at the warrior and kissed him, pushed the warrior onto his back, straddled his thighs in between his legs as he climbed atop of him. A sigh escaped Shade and he let his hands roam over Canach's neck, over the light sylvari wear that covered his chest.

When Shade lowered his body and rocked against Canach's groin the warrior groaned. Shade grinned and lifted himself slightly, saw the lust that began to fill Canach's eyes. In that regard they were both easily stirred, easily aroused by even simple touches, yet Shade found no shame in that.

He delighted in the fact that his body responded so openly and vulnerably to Canach and that the warrior did the same in return.

“I hope your good manners to not extend to third parties.”, Canach jested and the gleam in his eyes remained. “That would make of an awkward meeting with others in the future.”

“Only you.”, Shade said earnestly. “No other will do.”

Canach's nostrils flared when he exhaled. It was evident from his features that he was fighting an inner battle of temptation and desire. His hands gripped Shade's hips, held them tightly. “I have made arrangements, there is someone I want you to meet.”

Shade blinked at him in confusion and then felt Canach flip him. He landed on his back, felt the warriors weight pressing down on him and heat flared through his body.

“So we will have to be quick.”, Canach muttered against Shade's neck and Shade craned his neck, allowed Canach full access. The warrior kissed the skin there and Shade's breath hitched.

“Then we had better stop talking.”, Shade breathed impatiently. Canach eagerly obliged.

  
  


  
  


“Restore...Caladbolg?”, Shade asked and Ridhais, the sylvari woman, nodded eagerly.

“It is my Wyld Hunt. At first I thought that I was to protect its wielder, but I see my purpose clearly now.”

“How would you accomplish such a thing?”, Shade asked cautiously.

“I will need the broken blade.”, Ridhais said and noticed Shade's hesitation. “I have no desire to possess it, Commander. My Wyld Hunt is to restore it, and there is nobody else to wield it other than you.”

Slowly Shade drew Caladbog from its woven sheath and stared at it, thought it over for a few seconds, but he had no reason to distrust the woman, especially since he remembered seeing her in the pact before. She was earnest, at least about her past.

With a slow motion he held it out to her hilt first and she took it with wide, fascinated eyes and hands so gentle and careful as thought the blade was made from glass.

“It's magnificent.”, she breathed. “The blade is said to enhance the character of the wielder. In the hands of someone good they become great, and in the hands of someone unworthy, they become evil and corrupt.”

“That is what happened to Riannoc and his squire.”, Shade remembered the human, Waine, whom he had slain because the man had refused to give up the sword. One betrayal, one out of many, yet on that hurt even more because Riannoc, a brother, a firstborn, and for so long they had been left to wonder what had killed him.

Ridhais nodded. “The process will take time. I will need Caladbold's shards and a Vision Crystal. The blade holds its former bearers in its memory, and you need to cleanse them and attune yourself to the sword. If I am correct you will need to convince the blade you are worthy of wielding it.”

“What does that mean, exactly?”

“Caladbolg's memories resonate strongly, especially those about its former wielders. I believe you will encounter either the firstborn Riannoc or Trahearne, but I do not know what will happen. Your mind alone will be pulled in, so neither of us can help you with whatever you encounter.”

“So it will be up to me to convince Caladbolg I am worthy.”, Shade surmised and Ridhais nodded. Shade did not feel particularly worthy, not after everything that had happened, not after loosing his powers. How did he prove being worthy when he could not convince even himself?

“The shards were found by the pact soldiers that scouted and canvassed the Maguuma jungle.”, Canach answered and brought forth a pouch.

“You collected them.”, Shade said in awe and his eyes caught Canach's. “You collected the shards to restore Caladbolg.” _That's why you went away._

“The blade is important to you.”, Canach shrugged, but even though he tried to downplay his part nonchalantly, Shade's heart beat fondly and he knew the sentiment that had made Canach act as he had very well.

“Thank you.”, Shade breathed and even though Ridhais watched, he took Canach's hand and squeezed it.

“Do not thank me yet.”, Canach smiled. “The blade is not yet restored.”

“You've restored my hope.”, Shade earnestly replied. Canach met his eyes and slowly seemed to emphasize with the emotional value Shade produced from this.

“Of course.”, Canach said, at a lack for words.

“Uhm...”, Ridhais made and brought them from their moment. From another pouch Canach produced a crystal clear vision crystal and handed it to her.

“I gathered the shards and the crystal, as we discussed.”, Canach said to her.

“I think we are ready to begin.”, she smiled and sheathed the blade into the ground, scattered the shards closely around it. The vision crystal she placed on top where it hovered and cast a bright, white light. She then cast a glance at Shade over her shoulder. “Whenever you are ready to tap into the swords memory.”

Shade untangled his fingers from Canach's, his heart beating harshly in his chest. Slowly he approached the sword and lifted his hand, saw that it was quivering. When he cast a glance at Canach the warrior nodded.

Shade summoned his courage and touched the blade. The sun spun on the horizon, the ground seem to wilt, wither and die underneath his feat and transformed, twisted into the area of accursed Orr.

Confused he turned his head, searched for anything familiar and saw a figure shrouded in darkness. The figure stepped forward, wielding Caladbolg over its shoulder and the shadows seemed to part and drift into the air.

“Trahearne?”, Shade breathed and the firstborn looked at him with dark, squinted eyes.

“This won't end well.”, Trahearne growled. “For _you_.”

The attack came unexpected and it was only thanks to Shade's reflexes that he dodged. He made a surprised noise when he jumped aside when a blade of blue cut through the air in front of him.

“Trahearne, wait!”, Shade urged and rolled aside when the firstborn lunged at him. “I do not wish to fight!”

“Then you have already lost!”, the firstborn cried and cast a sea of black under Shade's feet that bubbled and threatened to pull him under. With a swish of his hand he froze the ground and slithered toward a save distance.

Shade could not bring himself to attack. The element water answered his calls, made it possible for him to evade Trahearne's strikes, but he knew evading was not an infinite solution.

So when he struck back he noticed that Trahearne was not simply relentless in his attacks, but also lithe when it came to dodging them. “Did you think to cast a mask of helplessness to increase your chances at victory?”, Trahearne's voice cooed and Shade grit his teeth.

“I am not your enemy! I am here to restore Caladbolg!”

“That weapon is not for the unworthy to wield!”, Trahearne cried and a fist of shadow slammed into Shade's stomach, pushed all air from his lungs when he fell onto his back. He gasped for air and saw Trahearne standing over him, Caladbolg in its former glory pointed toward his throat.

Shade helplessly gripped the blade's tip, stopped it from digging down into his bark and forced his arms against Trahearne's push.

Would he die? Could he die in the vision of this crystal? This was Caladbolgs memory, twisted as it was, and Shade had to cleanse it. To do that, he had to defeat the corrupted Trahearne, banish him from Caladbolgs memory.

“I am sorry, old friend.”; Shade murmured. “It seems fate crossed us again.”

“Your riddles will soon be over.”, Trahearne growled.

Shade froze the blade and Trahearne's arm, made the firstborn gasp at the cold that rose toward his chest. With a quick twist Shade rolled to the side, kicked behind him and managed to make the firstborn stumble back.

He dashed toward where the shattered Caladbolg rested and pulled it from the ground, felt it pulsing hotly underneath his palm. It almost felt as thought the blade had a fever, a fever dream that had turned into a great nightmare. Shade held it with genlte hands, brought the blade up toward his lips.

“Lend me your strength.”, Shade whispered to the blade. “Help me conquer my fears and yours. Help me put the past behind us.”

There was a hum in the air, the blade vibrated and a glimmer of yellow flowed from the blade, engulfed and circled it to its broken tip. With the power returning to the blade he felt it oozing into his fingers, his arm and his chest.

And there it pooled warm and soothing like a healing spring, bubbled and brought the lost and cut strands of magic inside him back to entwine with the magic of the sword. It coaxed the magic free from the darkness, pulled it from the pool of oblivion that it had fallen into.

Warmth rippled through his chest, gushed into his arms and legs in pulses. The heat of fire, the chill of water, the gust of air, the hardened earth, it all filled him up anew and he gasped at the power he felt.

But Caladbolg pulled at the power, almost coaxing the elements free. Shade resisted for a brief moment before he realized that as much as the blade trusted him to defeat Trahearne and its corrupted memories, he had to trust Caladbolg to cleanse the darkness that had threatened to swallow him whole.

When he let his control go it was an entirely different feeling than he was used to. The elements had always been singular, each to their very own. An unspoken border had kept the elements apart and individual.

But now they mixed, a vortex of energies that filled his chest. Opposites entwined, fire and water, earth and air, combining into a cluster of something entirely new, something entirely different and above it all, they were all a part of him.

A part of him he had never dared to imagine. To tread a thin line that had never even occurred for him to cross. Among the rush of power and the symbiosis that formed among the elements Shade suddenly remembered.

_Weaver_ .

Being a Weaver did not mean wielding a sword. It meant to  _weave_ the elements together, to create an entirety from taught separation. To open the mind to the possibility of a new whole, a new core. A new foundation to grow.

_You have to find a new center,_ the Pale Tree's voice echoed and he saw the glimmer of her form.  _Does the flame heat the water or evaporate the drop?_

Had she known? With all her knowledge, access to the Dream, her wisdom, had she seen a glimpse of this in his future? A vision of what he was to be? Who he would become?

That was his center. His new center. He knew it then as it filled him, warm and cold, hard and evasive. He was all, everything, not just one, not the sum of his parts. The Weaver was greater than the simple sum of the elements. A Weaver was the utter form of control because if brought even the forces together that opposed one another.

Shade's eyes glowed white, his body drew in the energy that had freed itself from his core, the loop on his shoulder hissed and static surrounded it. The ley line plate hummed on his chest and Caladbolg vibrated in his hand.

He pulled Caladbolg back, gripped his dagger with his left and felt the elements responding. A fiery sheet covered Caladbolg's glow in his right, his dagger in his left coated in sharp ice.

When Trahearne cast a shadow toward him Shade jumped into the air, circled backwards and landed gracefully, evading the attack. Lightning sizzled loudly when he attuned, the water cooling and soothing him still as its powers remained, a frost aura surrounding his form.

He was the lightning, he was the storm, he was the charge in the air. With a blink of his eyes he flashed forward, right in front of Trahearne and saw the Necromancer's eyes widen.

Fire instinctively answered and he struck at Trahearne with blades of water and fire. The air hissed and a thin, fine mist lifted into the air and Trahearne stumbled backwards, gasped at the pain on his chest where the strikes had landed.

One diagonal line was scorched, the other sharp and deep. Trahearne's hand wandered to his chest and he looked down at himself helplessly, the sap flowed freely from within onto his long fingers. The look of utter disbelief was etched on his face as his knees buckled and Shade jumped into the air, turned and slashed Caladbolg down through Trahearne's torso, tearing through his upper body.

Trahearne's body dissolved into an explosion of darkness and smoke and Shade lifted his hand to protect himself, but as soon as it dissipated he saw that Trahearne knelt on the ground, looking up at him in confusion with no wound apparent on him.

There was nothing evil about the image, no dark shadows, no Caladbolg in his grasp, but the Caladbolg Shade held shivered, just slightly, like a whimper at the sight of its former wielder.

“Shade?”, Trahearne asked and stood on his feet. “This isn't quite the last battlefield I remember.”

“We are in part of a Dream as Caladbolg saw the battle.”, Shade explained.

“Caladbolg's own memory...”, Trahearne murmured and glanced at the sword in Shade's grip. We've traveled strange lands, haven't we? But tell me, what of the Pact? Of Mordremoth?”

“Mordremoth was defeated, by my hand and yours. You...sacrificed yourself to save us all.”, Shade explained in a voice that grew quiet.

“Thank the Pale Tree.”, Trahearne sighed with a smile. “I felt such a terrible fear, to see my kin in the thrall of that monster. But my belief in you was never misplaced. Thank you for carrying our fight against the dragon to the finish.”

“You are taking the news of your death well.”, Shade noticed.

“It's certainly disquieting.”, Trahearne admitted. “If it was the price to defeat Mordremoth, however, I pay it gladly. That makes this an unusual meeting though. What troubles you?”

Trahearne cared for him, like he always had, even as a memory, as a vision, even in death. Shade fought the tightness that threatened to constrict his throat and brought tears to his eyes. “Caladbolg was...damaged in the fight with Mordremoth. To heal it, I need to attune it.”

“I can think of none better to carry Caladbolg in my stead. But, I suspect the sentiment alone won't suffice.”

“I...believe I need to show my worth in a fight.”

“You know, I have sometimes wondered of the outcome of a sparring match. Shall we?” The Necromancer smiled and Shade's chest eased.

“Ready when you are.”, he said and gripped Caladbolg again.

It felt not quiet as threatening, not quite as dangerous, almost light and comfortable. The new powers gave him an advantage, because Trahearne had never seen such powers before, and as such Shade had the edge on the fight.

When he finally did win and pointed the sharp edge of the dagger toward Trahearne's throat the firstborn smiled, nodded and stepped back.

“Haa...That conviction on the battlefield is why I've never doubted the outcome of a mission you take on.” Pride swelled in Shade's chest at the words.

“You are wasted on desk work yourself.”, Shade smiled.

“It was good to see you again, Shade, even like this. Take up Caladbolg, and protect this world.”

This was it. Shade would have to let him go, again. He could not make the spirit of Trahearne, a memory, linger. “Rest easy, Trahearne.”, Shade said and smiled. “I will take it from here.”

The last smile Trahearne gave him Shade consciously burned into his memory.

The memory faded, the images twisted and turned until Shade found himself back in the Dreamer's Terrace. He looked blankly ahead, noticed that the other two were staring at him and waiting for him to say something, but when he did not Ridhais was the first to ask,

“What happened? What did you see?”

“It was a corrupted memory of Caladbolg. It was Trahearne.” He saw Canach's eyes boring but could not meet his eyes. “I defeated him to prove my worth.”

Ridhais eyes trailed toward Caladbolg where it rested in the ground, the vision crystal atop it not quite as bright. When Shade lifted his hand to grasp the hilt he noticed that his right hand was engulfed in flame and his left in water that spiraled soothingly around his wrist.

“Your powers are back, I take it.”, Canach asked and Shade finally looked at him.

“No.”, Shade said and noticed the flicker of confusion and the hint of a frown on Canach's forehead. “This is...different. I think I found my new center.”

“Caladbolg is said to have the power to bring out the qualities in a person and magnify them like a lens. It seems to have accepted you as its new wielder. The attunement is complete.”

Shade gripped the sword and when he pulled it from the ground he noticed that the shards of the blade had somehow grown back into it, repairing and making it whole once more. It was heavier, but still rested comfortably and easy in Shade's grip.

Caladbolg came to life, golden light circled the blade and illuminated it in a warm glow. Small purple and pink butterflies fluttered around the blade, magically appearing from thin air. It truly felt like something off-worldly right then and Shade took a deep breath.

“I will take it from here.”, he murmured, and neither Ridhais nor Canach mentioned that what he said made very little sense – because they both understood what Shade had said was meant for neither of them. When Shade finally looked at Canach the warrior could not mistake that look in Shade's eyes for anything but determination. “I believe its time to catch up with the others.”, Shade said. “Let's head to Amnoon and see if Kralkatorrik has shown its colors.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> Holla there! Hope you enjoyed this little filler. I really enjoyed playing this Side-story just a few days back (How I did not know it existed before remains a mystery) and it fit perfectly with the transition of What the Past had Wrought and the new LS.  
> I hope you enjoyed yourselves. Leave a kudo and a comment if you like, you'll make my day. Lessthanthree, ~S


End file.
